In some commercial schemes, fermented dough is dropped into a divider hopper, which cuts the dough into loaf-sized pieces. The dough is then forced into pockets of a divider having a known volume. The pocket contents are cut off from the main dough mass. The dough pieces of constant volume are ejected onto a conveyor leading to a rounder. The dough pieces leaving the divider are irregular in shape with sticky cut surfaces from which the gas can readily diffuse. The rounder close the cut surface, giving each dough piece a smooth and dry exterior. A relatively thick and continuous skin is for=ned around the dough piece. The rounder shapes the dough into a ball for easier handling in subsequent steps. The rounder performs its functions by rolling the flouted dough pieces around the surface of a drum or cone, moving it upward or downward along this surface by means of a spiral track. As a result of this action, the surface of the dough pieces is dried both by the even distribution of dusting flour and by dehydration resulting from exposure to air. The dough pieces assume an approximately spherical shape. After being allowed to rest, the dough pieces are conveyed to a molder. See: Matz, Samuel A., "Cereal Technology", (1970), pages 56 to 59; and The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Macropaedia, Volume 2, (1974), page 601.
Rounders can be classified as bowl-, drum-, or umbrella-type. The conical or bowl variety consists of a rotatable cone-shaped bowl around the interior of which is placed a stationary spiral track or race. From the conveyor leading from the divider the dough pieces fall into the feed hopper of the rounder and then drop to the bottom of the rotating bowl. The pieces are tumbled and rolled along the dough race until they emerge from the top of the bowl and fall onto the belt leading to the intermediate proofer. A second type of rounder is the so-called umbrella or inverted cone variety. These machines differ from the preceding type in that the dough piece is carried along the outside surface of a cone which has its apex facing upward. The third type of rounder is the drum rounder. This machine differs from the bowl and umbrella styles in that the cone segment has very little slope to its sides, i.e., the sides are almost vertical. The dough piece enters near the bottom of the drum and rolls upward. In addition to their form, rounding machines may vary in the texture or composition of the rotating surface, in the means provided for adjusting the relationship of the dough race to the drum or cone, in the method of applying dusting flour, etc. The rotating surface is usually corrugated vertically or horizontally, but the design and the size of the ribs vary considerably from one manufacturer to another. The surface may be waxed or it may be coated with a plastic such as Teflon to reduce sticking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,610 discloses a dough piece rounder for shaping dough pieces. A mass of dough is made into uniform pieces of equal weight. The dough pieces are deposited onto an endless air impervious flexible belt. The belt conveys the pieces to a dough shaping apparatus. The dough pieces are shaped into a desired shape. The belt is supported and cooled by a perforated plate deck lying just underneath at least a portion of the belt. Air is discharged from the perforated plate deck to provide a film of air between the plate deck and the belt to reduce the friction therebetween and to carry away heat from any friction heat generated. The dough pieces can be formed into spherical shapes by the apparatus of the patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,669 discloses edible articles for ingestion. The edible articles comprise an edible cookie bit defined by a mixture of flour, sugar and shortening baked into a predetermined size and into a predetermined shape. The surface of the cookie bit has a characteristic for absorbing an edible foodstuff into at least a portion of the surface while retaining the predetermined shape. The predetermined structural characteristic of the cookie bit is defined by the ability of the edible cookie bit for absorbing the foodstuff and retaining the structural integrity of the edible cookie bit. The edible foodstuff for coating the surface without compromising the predetermined shape, covers the edible cookie bit so that the surface is not visible in the finished edible article. The cookie bits have a count per pound of about 500 to about 3000.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,219,329 discloses using a fluidized bed to treat food materials. The patent discloses toasting discrete materials, such as, rice, wheat, corn flakes and potato chips, utilizing a fluidized bed to obtain a bubble surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,149,976 discloses using a fluidized bed to treat food materials. The patent discloses roasting granular organic material, such as, coffee beans, cocoa beans, peanuts and cereals, by controlled fluidization.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,545 discloses using a fluidized bed to treat food materials. The patent discloses receiving pieces of dough divided from a dough mass, sheeting the dough, passing the dough pieces over a fluidized bed while squeezing the pieces between a pair of rollers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,726 discloses using a fluidized bed to treat food materials. The patent discloses a dough molding method wherein a piece of dough is caused to pass over a fluidized bed in its approach to a pair of sheeting rolls.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,978 discloses reshaping a cylindrical dough into a roundish shape and coating it, using a revolving drum to reshape the dough.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,574 relates to the shaping of cookie dough into conical pieces using a die roll. The conical pieces are laid on their side and baked on a conveyer in an oven so that all baked surfaces are rounded. Panning and handling are facilitated by the shape. Cylindrical or frustroconical shapes can also be used. However, according to the patent spherical cake or cookie products are inherently 10 difficult to make.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,381,697 and 4,397,881 are similar to U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,574. U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,697 discloses using a die roll to produce cone-shaped cookie dough bits which are transferred by conveyors to an oven conveyor for baking to form cookies. U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,881 discloses using a die roll to shape cookie dough into a part cylindrical, part conical configuration. Spherical cake or cookie products, it is disclosed, are inherently difficult to make. The shaped dough pieces are baked on an oven conveyor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,572 relates to the coating of baked or fried products. The patent discloses coating baked or fried products with a moisture barrier by dipping, spraying, brushing or a water fall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,978 discloses a method of reshaping deformable food material, such as dough, by rolling said pieces in the presence of particulate coating material in a revolving drum, thereby reshaping the pieces into roundish, coated bodies.
The following patents relate to the use of heated streams in a baking chamber. However, fluidation of dough pieces to reshape and leaven them into roundish pieces is not taught in them:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,578 discloses baking food in a closed space in which heated air is circulated. The temperature is varied in a saw-tooth fashion to minimize soiling of the cooking space.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,383 discloses baking bread, cookies, etc., in which high velocity, heated air is impinged against the food product.
U.S. Pat. 4,587,946 discloses baking food in an oven while circulating heated air with a fan to obtain substantially uniform baking throughout the oven.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,542 discloses cooking food by conveying the same through an oven while heated air is forced through the oven and impinges the food.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,864 discloses an air heated oven wherein food pieces are placed in a foraminous basket and heated air flows through the basket and heats the food pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,375 discloses cooking foods in an oven while controlling the air flow rate in the oven.
British Patent No. 462,897 discloses regenerating bakery products by subjecting the products to the action of freely circulating heated air.
German Patent No. 2,446,581 discloses a baking process which utilizes a moving stream of hot air.
French Patent No. 2,409,006 discloses a baking chamber utilizing circulating air.
The present invention provides a process for continuously mass producing spherical baked goods while avoiding flattening of the dough pieces due to oven spreading. The leavened products are sufficiently spherical so as to enable continuous application of uniform confectionery coatings by pan coating without sticking of the pieces to each other during coating.